Food & Healthy Living Centered on Family and Faith

Category Archives: Essential Oils

Unlike many commercially-made antiperspirants, my homemade deodorant recipe contains no cancer-causing chemicals or aluminum, which has also been linked to Alzheimers. My husband and I have been using this deodorant for years and feel good knowing that we’re using a recipe we can trust.

At first, it can take time for your skin to adjust. Many people go through a detox period, after so many years of using chemicals. Making sure you have optimal magnesium levels and doing clay packs on your underarms can help.

If you’ve made my lotion bars or lip balm, then you already have most of the ingredients on hand to make this deodorant. You won’t need shea butter for this recipe, though.

Homemade lotion bars are a great alternative to chemical-containing lotions on the market. This recipe works wonderfully as a lip balm, too. I’ve had people tell me that it’s the only thing that works for their eczema, rosacea, baby’s diaper rash cream, or cracked, bleeding lips!

Ingredients:

I like to use equal parts beeswax and shea butter, then about 1.5 parts coconut oil. Adjust the ratios to make it how you like. If you want to make a whipped body butter, increase the oil content and whip with your stand mixer until light and fluffy.

Beeswax (I read you can use cocoa butter in place if you have allergies.)

Remove from heat, then add essential oils of your choice. I use about 30 drops for one batch. (If I want to do different scents, I will add the oils to the molds about half way through adding the mixture, stir, then finish filling.)

Pour into the molds or containers.

Let them cool on the counter or refrigerator.

A few notes:

These lotion bars work wonderfully as diaper cream OR natural sunscreen! Just add a little non-nano zinc oxide and some extra oil (experiment with different kinds – like jojoba oil) when you’re melting everything so that it’s more spreadable.

If you want a more “whipped” lotion, you can try adjusting the ratios. Try increasing the coconut oil or add some olive oil. Then whip it up just like you would make whipped cream!

Our family has been using essential oils for about three years now. The first oil I tried was Thieves Oil when my daughter had a respiratory infection she just could not kick. I was amazed at how quickly she turned a corner after I began applying Thieves with coconut oil to her back, chest, and feet!

Since then, I’ve dabbled in essential oil use, but for a long time I wasn’t sure how to really use the oils. I put lemon EO with water and vinegar in a spray bottle for cleaning. I put lavender in bath water. I sniffed peppermint for a cold. But other than that, I didn’t really know how to dig in.

To make your life simpler, I highly, highly, highly recommend this FREE ebook, The Complete Guide to Clinical Armontherapy and Essential Oils of the Physical Body by Elizabeth Ashley. It’s the BEST resource on essential oils I’ve ever found! I only found it a month or so ago and I’ve already learned so much.

Digging Deeper

Digging deeper into the uses of EOs, I got this kit of EOs from Eden’s Garden for my birthday. I love Eden’s Garden as a company. I trust them just as much as I trust DoTerra and YoungLiving – more than Young Living, to be honest, because YL only sources their plants from their fields here in the US, where many plants for oils do not grow as well, whereas DoTerra and Eden’s Garden source their herbs from the best sources available. In addition, I have a real beef with YL after finding out about so many people leaving their company due to moral business ethics concerns. Most of all, I’m incredibly happy with the oils I’ve bought from Eden’s Garden! The prices can’t be beat.

Every night before bed, I have been applying the turmeric oil from EG on a large, painful cyst I have on the top of my wrist. I can NOT believe how much it’s shrunk in just a short time! It’s very nearly gone. It was so large and so sore, I could hardly flex my wrist. I wish I had taken “before” photos!

On the first nice day, my daughter wiped out on concrete on her new bike. Her elbow, arm, and thigh were scraped badly. Her thigh had a bruise with a big, raised welt on top. I immediately applied on 1 drop of lavender and 1 drop of clove EO mixed with coconut oil. It hurt so badly, my daughter wouldn’t let me wash it! Then she sat and played a game on the Kindle quietly, which helped calm her. My sister called and I got distracted. Probably 20 minutes later, I went to look at my daughter’s thigh and the welt was gone! The bruising was worse, of course, but it healed up really quickly. We were very impressed.

After my doctor recommended grapeseed oil for my skin, I bought a bottle of grapeseed oil on sale at the grocery store. I won’t cook with it because of the high omega-6 PUFA, but I LOVE to use it on my skin. Wow. My skin hasn’t been so soft in a LONG time. I just put it in a little dish, add some oils, and then dip my fingers in and apply to my skin after I get out of the shower. Love it!